TOM CANNON is set to make his senior debut on Tuesday – tying his international future to Ireland Cannon for at least 3 years.
If the fixture was a competitive one, he would be tied down indefinitely.
The Leicester City striker is in the senior squad for the first time but did not play against Hungary.
But interim boss John O’Shea is set to give him a runout against Portugal in Aveiro which will mean he would be tied to ireland for at least 3 years.
Asked if he was in line to feature against Portugal in their final warm-up game before Euro 2024, O’Shea said: “Yeah look there is every chance.
“He has been very impressive but it’s about understanding roles and responsibilities of what’s needed for the team and when.
“But I can only speak very highly in admiration of what he’s been able to do in training and he’s going to be a good player for Ireland, a very good player.”
FIFA changed the rules surrounding switching allegiance from one country to another in 2020.
Since then, a player is able to play up to three matches – provided they are not in a major tournament – for one country before declaring for another, prior to the age of 21.
But, once they have turned 21, a senior friendly cap ties them to that country for three years.
If he’s to go on and make a competitive appearance, that means he’d be permanently tied to Rep of Ireland.
Cannon – whose four grandparents are all Irish – turned 21 last December.
He scored on his solitary appearance for the Ireland under-21s, against Iceland in March 2023.
After that, the Aintree-born forward was the subject of an approach from England.
Stephen Kenny said this time last year that he was assessing his international future but Cannon maintained last week that was never the case and he was only unavailable at that time because of tonsillitis.
Since then, the player left Everton for Leicester but his contribution to their promotion-winning campaign was curtailed by injury.
Now fit again, a runout against Portugal will ensure that he is among the attacking options going forward for whoever lands the Ireland job on a permanent basis.
O’Shea has a fully-fit squad to choose from after Shane Duffy and Finn Azaz shrugged off knocks they picked up against Hungary on Tuesday.
O’Shea said: “Shane Duffy was a bit of a worry, he got a knock on his calf, thankfully he has been ok. Bosun Lawal went to the Under-21s, Andy Moran and Josh Keely as well.
“Jim Crawford and his staff and players got a great result in Croatia. The rest are all fit, same squad as Tuesday ready to go, bar Bosun.
“Finn Azaz had a bang on the quad but is ok, he trained, Duffs was going to take it easy today but it was a light session so he took part.”